Bombala, New South Wales

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Bombala is a town in the Monaro region of south-eastern New South Wales, Australia in Bombala Council. It is located approximately 500 kilometres south of the state capital, Sydney, and 80 kilometres south of the town of Cooma. The name derives from an Aboriginal word meaning "Meeting of the waters". The town lies on the banks of the Bombala River. Town population had a population of 1,226 in 2001.

Bombala was proposed in 1903 by King O'Malley as the site of the parliamentary seat of Australia, a proposal ultimately rejected in favour of Canberra. The railway reached Bombala in 1921 and closed in 1986 being an extension of the line from Queanbeyan to Cooma. The line was and still is known as the Sydney to Bombala line.

Bombala

Typical Bombala street full of back-parked cars

Principal industries of the area include grazing and timber. Tourism is also growing in importance to the local economy. There is also a small amount of specialty producers with meat rabbits, lavender and many herbs being grown in the district.

The area is known for possibly the largest population of Platypus in New South Wales and promotes the area as Platypus Country.